1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic programmable article weighing device and is more particularly concerned with an apparatus and method for sorting articles according to their respective physical characteristics, such as weight and filling containers with a prescribed number of articles or a prescribed weight of articles.
2. Background of the Invention
In the past numerous machines have been devised for weighing or sizing and bagging fruits and vegetables so as to provide bags of uniform minimum weight. Such prior fruit weighing devices usually weigh the individual container as it is being filled and then blocks the feed of articles to the container until another container is in place. Usually, such devices do not weigh the individual articles themselves, nor are they capable of accurate weighing. Instead, they assure that at least a minimum prescribed weight is attained.
Other prior art devices include a series of cups in which successive fruit are deposited. Weighing is accomplished by weighing both the cup and the fruit. The back end of the cup is lowered to discharge the fruit onto the take-away belts; however, the fruit must clear the let-down cup. This calls for about twice the distance between the height of the take-away belts and the fruit when it is being weighed. This greater height causes more bruising of the fruit than when the take-away belts are located higher. It is also difficult to keep doubles out of the cups. This causes inaccurate weight.
On weight sizers using cups, the cup is mounted on a carrier rod near the front of the cup. When a pear or a pear-shaped apple, for example, falls into the cup with its heavy end toward the rod, the device will indicate that the fruit weighs less than when the heavy end falls toward the back side of the cup.
In still other types of sizing devices, the fruits are sized but not weighed. Such sizing devices attempt to separate the fruit according to diameter and drop the same into different storage zones in response thereto.
Each of these prior art devices requires considerable maintenance, may bruise the fruit by rough handling, and is not too accurate in weighing or sizing of the fruit. Furthermore, these prior art devices do not count the number of fruit passing through the machine, weigh and store the weight of each unit, nor do they total the weight or total the number of units for each size of fruit.